Mobility in International Teacher Education

Heidelberg University and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV) in Chile have maintained a successful cooperation agreement since 2007. This was more recently supplemented by the involvement of the local Chilean school, Colegio Rubén Castro (primary and secondary level [Gymnasium]). The leadership of Colegio Rubén Castro hopes that the school’s involvement in the project with Heidelberg University and the PUCV will give its pupils greater access to intercultural learning opportunities. Students from Heidelberg are able to undertake a cross-disciplinary course programme for guest students and, as part of the agreement between the universities, are able to attend lectures and courses in both of their chosen degree subjects. The Bachelor’s degree programme at the Instituto de Literatura y Ciencias del Lenguaje (ILCL) offers numerous modules which can be individually recognised. The range of subjects offered as part of the Chilean course programme (linguistics, literature, and cultural studies) reflects the structure of the Bachelor’s degree programme with a teaching degree option available as part of teacher training at Heidelberg University.

The University of Jyväskylä in Finland was founded in 1863 as the first Finnish-language teacher training college and is today one of the leading university teacher training locations in Finland. The university has its own Teacher Training School on campus and aims to promote educational innovation through the architectural design of teaching/learning spaces. We would like to expand this project partnership using existing Erasmus places at the Institute of Educational Science for student teachers, financing guest lectureships and a coordination trip to Finland; from this we expect a variety of impulses for the research-based development and strengthening of the teaching profession at the university.

Heidelberg University and the Sorbonne Université Paris (4EU) have enjoyed a strategic partnership since 2018. As a result, both research-based cooperation and collaborative teaching and learning initiatives have rapidly developed. Teaching and learning initiatives have included the Double Degree in German Studies (Master of Arts), which began in the winter semester 2019/2020. This Master’s course serves as a specific degree programme for students completing teacher training with the subject combination French and German. In the future, this course will be offered in Paris, and will also involve collaboration with German international schools located within the Paris area. In addition, the HSE has been cooperating with the institute since 2021 within the  joint project ENTENTE21; among other things, the project enables school internships in Paris and Heidelberg and encourages students to reflect on their experiences.

Over the course of several decades, Heidelberg University has developed an intensive exchange programme with the Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier. It is not only research which benefits from such collaboration but also the students at both institutions. As a result of the relationship developed between the two universities, a new double degree programme was set up in the academic year 2018/2019 in “Études Transculturelles” (Transcultural Studies) at the Department for Romance Studies. Alongside the university partnership, the cities of Heidelberg and Montpellier are also twinned. This simplifies the process of involving other external partners in the project, such as the Franco-German secondary school Lycée Georges Clemenceau, or the Montpellier and Heidelberg houses.

The Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici at the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II has been linked with the Department of Romance Studies at Heidelberg University for many years as part of the Erasmus programme. With the aim of offering greater opportunity for transdisciplinary teaching and learning, collaboration will now be extended to include the Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali. Students completing teacher training may be particularly interested in the course Culture digitali e della comunicazione (digital and communication cultures), which offers a valuable opportunity to gain important skills for a career as a teacher. In order that students also have the opportunity to complete internships in Naples, plans are currently underway to involve the German department of the humanistic secondary school G. Garibaldi in Naples in the project.

Following the Russian attack on Ukraine, an academic exchange with the partner university in St. Petersburg is no longer possible. We are pleased that at short notice, a project partner was found in Vilnius University (Vilniaus universitetas), with which Heidelberg University already has a close academic exchange via the Coimbra Group's "Student Exchange Network". Students from Heidelberg in teacher training can take a course in Russian Studies at the Faculty of Philology. The aim is to establish a permanent cooperation in the exchange of students and lecturers.

Teachers College at Columbia University is the oldest and largest graduate school of education in the United States. Educationalists such as John Dewey, Margaret Mead, and James Earl Russel were highly influential in the College’s development and the institution continues to adhere to European education models and research traditions. Alongside regular student and staff exchanges, the Heidelberg School of Education is also looking to increase collaboration with Teachers College in regard to administration and knowledge management. In addition, the institutions are looking to provide shared online modules to be taken by students of both universities.